{"id":6492,"date":"2021-05-17T17:19:52","date_gmt":"2021-05-18T00:19:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/napahumane.org\/?p=6492"},"modified":"2021-05-17T17:19:52","modified_gmt":"2021-05-18T00:19:52","slug":"keeping-our-children-and-our-pets-safe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/napahumane.org\/keeping-our-children-and-our-pets-safe\/","title":{"rendered":"Keeping Our Children and Our Pets Safe"},"content":{"rendered":"

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We’re offering a free virtual class<\/strong> to teach children how to be safe around dogs, as part of our Humane Education program. In just 20-30 minutes, kids will learn the basics of canine behavior and body language, as well as how to safely pet and snuggle with furry friends. The family-friendly educational session will be led by Napa Humane\u2019s Program Director, Lisa Alexander, and broadcast via Facebook Live<\/a> at 1pm on Wednesday, May 19, 2021<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"Napa Humane has been providing similar in-person classes to Napa County elementary school classrooms for many years; this virtual event is the slightly condensed, pandemic edition. Napa County students may recognize Sampson<\/strong>, Napa Humane\u2019s stuffed dog from the classroom presentations, as he assists Lisa in demonstrating the proper way to pet a dog. While this class is intended for elementary school-aged children, parents and older family members are all welcome to participate. Napa Humane staff will be monitoring the chat\/comment function to ensure everyone can get their dog bite questions answered.<\/p>\n

\u201cNearly all childhood dog bites are preventable<\/strong>,\u201d says Lisa Alexander, Program Director of Napa Humane. \u201cTeaching kids how to interact safely with dogs dramatically reduces their risk of getting bitten, and the dog\u2019s risk of being branded \u2018a biter.\u2019 It\u2019s one of those situations where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 4.5 million Americans are bitten by dogs each year, with more than 800,000 people needing medical care for their injuries. Sadly, children make up half of all dog bite victims, and are also the most likely to be seriously injured<\/strong>. The second most commonly bitten group of people are senior citizens. Dogs with a history of biting are often pushed out of their homes, and onto the unwanted list, with many winding up euthanized.<\/p>\n

\"\"In non-pandemic times, Napa Humane\u2019s Humane Education Program provides free classroom presentations to elementary school kids, using multimedia teaching tools to explain animal body language, behavior, and situations to avoid, while still keeping kids engaged and entertained. The program also teaches kids about responsible pet care, so they can raise healthy, well-socialized pets and grow up to be caring and compassionate citizens of the world.<\/p>\n

Napa Humane encourages everyone in our community to learn how to reduce the incidence of biting.\u00a0To sign up for the virtual class, visit <\/strong>facebook.com\/events\/1436693116710804\/<\/a> or Napa Humane\u2019s profile page on Facebook: <\/strong>facebook.com\/NapaHumane<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For those who can not attend the May 19th<\/sup> class, Napa Humane offers the following 10 tips for reducing the chance of a dog bite:<\/p>\n